On the 2nd of February at 05.00 p.m. in the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata in Mdina (Malta), in the presence of the Archbishop of Malta, Charles J. Scicluna, a ceremony will take place that will mark the solemn opening of the diocesan inquiry into the signs, virtue, and reputation for holiness of the Servant of God, Fr. Avertan Fenech, O.Carm. who died in the odour of sanctity on the 1st of November, 1943.
Fr. Avertan dedicated his whole life to the sacrament of penance, the spiritual direction of souls, and the formation of novices, witnessing by his example to all that he taught in words. His indomitable faith in Divine Providence reached its zenith when he suffered a severe stroke, that left him disabled. Confined to a wheelchair and to bed for eleven years, he was a source of edification for all who took turns at his bedside, to who he gave strength and encouragement in the difficulties of daily life. Throughout his long and painful illness the Servant of God, a genuine master of the virtues, made himself evermore credible, by the way he witnessed to the love of Christ: crucified with him, he pointed to the way of the cross with great serenity as the way to reach the enjoyment of his marvellous light.